Pages

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

What Church Work Looks Like

Here is what church work looks like:

We only average 90 in worship on a Sunday. We have 191 on roll. Our budget is only $114,000. It is hard to believe that a congregation our size could produce such dramatic change half way around the world.In October of last year, 60 or so people from Trinity and a handful of others from the neighborhood, prepared and packaged freeze dried meals for school kids in Kenya.We made 12,000 meals in about 2 hours.It only cost us $3000.That is $.25 a meal.What is amazing is what it provided.Out of nothing and through God we were enable to give kids something.Below is a letter from Misheck Kanake who in charge of the ARI (Africa Rural Institute) in Maua, Kenya.It is amazing, simply amazing!

Dear Jim,

My name is Misheck Kanake serving with the Methodist Church in Kenya and building up a School based Ministry in School called ARI Boarding school started in 1995. ARI is short for Africa Rural Institute. We take children from Nursery through grade 8 and currently we have a population of over 300 students and twelve teachers.

Though we mostly take children from very low income families, where many of them are on scholarships due to fact that they cannot raise any fees. We have had friends who have helped us to keep them in School.

Our School is on the marginal lands where many people live in poverty, lack water for domestic use and food insecurity due to frequent lack or very short rains. Family incomes are very low which have resulted in many children missing School fees, uniforms, books and other necessary items have been a big handcuff and as a result of this, many children drop out of School keeping community illiteracy levels very high.

At the present, we are supposed to be in the middle of long rains but as per now, no rain in our district and the surrounding districts, people are frightened because the effect of this will be devastating.

Schools opened on 4th may after April holidays. The food (Rice/Soya meals) collected, packaged and sent to us through me to go to the very marginal Schools (Murera, Nkanga, ARI, and St. Marks) was received last week. This was a SAVIOR shipment. The 1st meal of Rice and Soya was served today to the delight of all that tasted.

On behalf of the Methodist Church in Kenya and on behalf of students, teachers and the parents of the Schools mentioned, I WISH TO SAY A BIG, BIG ELEPHANT THANK YOU for participating in sending the delicious meals. It will be served to over 1500 students per meal!!

I don’t want anybody to imagine what could happen between now and the end of the semester, 5th August, If the food shipment was not received! It is going to be very bad with the Schools in the dry areas like ours who are not even expecting food from anywhere unless the government intervenes early enough.

My special call is, to all those brothers and sisters working within the umbrella of the Church, Please prepare early, prepare promptly and move swiftly when duty calls us to supply the need of them that suffer any need wherever they may be. Let us teach our families, the youth and all adults that we are always ON THE FRONT LINE whenever and wherever we are called to serve by all means. Finally I wish to invite you at your convenience to come over and experience with us the kind of service we engage in everyday.

Please tell all the children that wrote letters to our students and received fromour students to write againto our studentsfor they are very much interested in writing.

I wish you God’s presence always.

MISHECK

All I can say is...AMEN! For more information on Meals for Learning and how your church can get involved, go to their Website.